Absolute Regression Chapter 448

448
It was all in one.

Between the gamblers who were showing off their skills and the people who were betting, the wind catchers who were setting the mood, and even the touts who brought us in, they were all on the same side.

The rest of the people besides them were either people who had already lost money or people who would lose it in the future.

“Okay, if you hit the bowl with the dice, you get three times your bet!”

The gambler was a small, middle-aged man, but his eyes were as sharp as those of a warrior.

My father asked me.

“Do you have money?”

“Don’t you have money?”

Father nodded.

“I don’t have anything to carry around.”

Well, why would Cheonma ever take out his sword?

I couldn’t just pass up this precious opportunity to tease my father.

“If you miss Uncle Hwi and me, you won’t be able to buy us food. Then you should either eat without permission or leave that sword behind and eat it.”

It was fun to just imagine my father like that.

“If you’ve played around with everyone, then you’ll get money.”

Father held out his hand.

I took a nyang out of my pocket and handed it over.

“Be careful! On this floor, that person is a swordsman and a fighter. That hand is faster than our eyes.”

Of course, you can’t avoid your father’s eyes. It’s just something he tells the con artists to listen to.

“Okay, then let’s mix it.”

After the man opened each bowl and made sure there was nothing in it, he put the dice he was holding in his hand into one of them.

Opened, closed, sent here, sent there, the movements of his hands were not so fast that it was confusing and suspicious.

Finally, the man’s hand stopped.

“So, where would you like to stay?”

Father put a nyang down in front of the middle bowl.

This might be the first street gambling experience for Dad in his life.

“Is there anyone else who wants to go? Then I will open it.”

When the man opened the middle bowl, there was a dice inside.

The hand was not as quick as the eye.

“You have good eyes.”

The gambler had free time.

Is that leeway because the skills haven’t been properly demonstrated yet? Or is it a strategy to lose them slowly at first and eventually leave them empty-handed?

The man who had been soliciting customers also came up to my father and praised him for no reason.

“Your Majesty, your eyes are really good.”

His father didn’t even look at him. What was holding his interest now were those three white bowls.

“Okay, let’s mix it again!”

The gambler shuffled the dice again. The dice moved dazzlingly between the bowls.

This time, my father chose the right one.

“Is there anyone else who wants to go?”

This time too, my father walked alone.

When I opened the bowl my father had chosen, there was a dice inside.

When they hit it in a row, the onlookers let out a soft exclamation.

Father’s third choice.

This time I hit the bowl containing the dice.

At this moment, I saw the gambler looking slightly embarrassed.

It was clear that he had tried to induce the other person to choose the other side, but it didn’t work.

At the same time, I saw this sight. The happy smile on my father’s lips. He was having fun hanging out with the guys right now.

“Father! You’ve won three times in a row.”

The people who were watching also started to show real interest.

The gambler shuffled the dice again, this time with a more careful hand.

“I got it right this time too!”

Then the people around him cheered and exclaimed. They were not wind catchers, but real onlookers.

From the touts to the hustlers, they all looked bewildered. This must be because the gambler never made them hit four times in a row.

The dice were shuffled again as quick glances passed between them.

The fifth time, other people followed their father’s lead.

Father got it right again. Applause poured in from all sides. Now even passersby gathered to watch.

The gazes toward my father. Up until now, he had only received gazes filled with respect and fear, but had he ever received the gazes full of anticipation from the onlookers on the street? Of course not. These people could not have come this close.

“Okay, mix it again!”

My father was purely enjoying himself. If he had any ill feelings toward them, he wouldn’t have continued to give them only one nyang each.

Or it could lead to an even bigger disaster.

What would happen if you kept giving them ten or twenty nyang at first and then later gave them a thousand nyang note? What if they accepted it as good and hit you right then?

The problem isn’t wasting money, but withholding it can result in losing your life.

But my father didn’t do that. He just kept going, one nyang at a time.

When he got the sixth right, the onlookers cheered, and when he got the seventh right, the gambler’s expression completely hardened.

Eventually, the man who had been soliciting customers came and spoke quietly.

“Hey, how about we stop now?”

His father looked at him. What on earth was his father thinking about them?

I couldn’t tell, but it was clear that they didn’t set out to harass them. They were just having fun for a little while because it seemed like fun.

“Okay.”

My father has been giving me extra money ever since.

“Let’s have this for dinner.”

“With this money, you can even enjoy a dinner party.”

Then the gambler said,

“Would you like to play a game and bet all the money you earned today?”

Then the man who had been soliciting customers approached him in surprise and whispered something to him. It seemed like he was telling him not to get excited and to get over it, but the gambler did not do that.

Would my father ever turn down a situation like this?

“Mix it.”

Given the circumstances, wouldn’t the gambler use a desperate measure? A tactic that would never fail?

Three overturned bowls.

My father chose the middle one. It was a fairly large amount, as it involved all the money he had earned so far.

Judging by the gambler’s relaxed expression, it was clear that the dice were not in the middle.

“Okay, then I will open it.”

The moment the man opened the middle bowl, his eyes widened.

There was a dice where it should have been empty.

His last trick didn’t work.

Everyone was surprised, including the gambler, the man who had been soliciting customers, and the onlookers. They probably didn’t expect that he would get it right until the very end. The onlookers cheered.

“As expected! Our father is the best!”

I said to the gambler.

“Now, give me the money.”

For a moment, the gambler seemed to have lost his mind and was speechless.

“Please wait a moment.”

The eyes of the man who was soliciting customers were rolling here and there. The moment he thought it was a waste of money to give them, their fates would be divided.

After a while, the gambler took out money from the pouch he had in his arms and handed it over.

“Here it is.”

The gambler lost the bet for money, but won the bet for his life.

“How on earth did you do it?”

The father accepted the money and answered.

“Have you ever taught anyone your skills? Me too.”

I laughed out loud at my father’s answer. It was the first time I had seen him say something like that to a gambler.

But the surprise didn’t end there.

The father returned half of the money to the gambler.

“Why are you giving me half back?”

The father answered the gambler’s question softly.

“Sometimes, there are people who will have to return the money and send it back. In those cases, return half and send it back.”

At that moment, my father’s gaze changed. It was no longer the soft gaze he had when he played with the con artists.

A heavy gaze that a mere gambler cannot bear.

The moment he saw those eyes, the gambler’s head lowered by itself.

“I will definitely keep that promise!”

We continued walking, leaving him with his head bowed behind.

“You are amazing.”

“That’s great. I don’t think he’ll keep his promise anyway.”

My father did not believe the gambler’s promise.

“I will protect you.”

“I’ll probably keep it once or twice. But eventually, I’ll forget the fear of this moment.”

My father basically didn’t trust people, let alone street gamblers.

Yes, Father. Maybe so. But I may keep that promise for the rest of my life. You don’t know how scary your eyes are, so that’s why you say that.

“Why did you give me the chance?”

After a moment, my father answered.

“I feel good today.”

The moment I heard those words, I stopped walking.

Are you feeling as good as I am right now?

As much as I saw my father so happy for the first time? As much as I heard him express his feelings to me?

“I earned money, so I’ll buy dinner.”

“Would you like to buy dinner and eat it while riding in a carriage?”

My father looked at me and then nodded.

You got what I meant.

The gambler readily admitted it, but the man who had been soliciting customers might have let his men off at night because he was afraid of losing money. Besides, he had seen that our sack was full.

So if you kill those guys, another one will come running from behind. Then what the military was worried about could happen. There’s someone behind them, and then there’s someone behind them.

It’s inevitable that you’ll get caught up in it while traveling, but not now. Our trip is only on its second day.

Father, no matter how much fate tries to draw you in, we have to avoid it first.

* * *

The next day, we were riding the carriage towards Seomseong.

My father quietly closed his eyes, and I was looking at the scenery outside.

As I was looking at the wildflowers blooming along the river, I suddenly asked my father.

“Father, are you good at fishing?”

My father nodded with his eyes closed. He had a confident expression on his face, as if he was saying, “There’s nothing I can’t do.”

“How about fish for dinner tonight? We’ll bet on catching a big fish, and the loser will have to do everything from cleaning the fish to cooking it, and even cleaning up afterwards. If you’re not confident, then don’t worry.”

The father spoke to Hui with his eyes closed.

“Pull the carriage to the river.”

My father left his worries behind at the main office.

Whiga parked his carriage at the riverside.

“How big is the biggest fish your father has ever caught?”

Then the wonderful fish was mentioned by the father.

“Golden scale star fishing.”

It was a legendary spirit fish. It was probably bigger than a person.

“Is that real?”

“I caught it and took it to the inner chamber.”

“Ah! You can’t win against the Golden Lin Seong-eo.”

I may lose in size, but I will win in value.

Mannyeonhwari.

The ultimate leader of the spirit fish.

Of course, I can’t get it now. I can only get the Mannyeonhwari at the place and time I got it later.

“I’m going fishing again.”

No kidding. I literally searched underwater to the point where my body swelled up and burst while looking for that damned persimmon.

“Okay, then let’s start by making a fishing rod.”

I went around the area looking for bamboo. I cut the best ones. I cut two of them, including my father’s.

“Which bamboo would you choose?”

“You choose first.”

“You seem to be taking it easy. I won’t let you see me.”

But contrary to what he said, he chose the lesser of the two bamboos. No matter what, he couldn’t choose the better one than his father’s.

He took out a dagger and carved a bamboo to make a fishing rod.

“You can’t blame your equipment later.”

“You shouldn’t do it.”

“Mister Whee, did you hear that? You have to be fair in your judgment. You can’t hang up the fish that your father caught later!”

Whiga laughed at my words. He really was the type of person who would try to hang up a fish his father caught if it was smaller than his own.

“But father, you don’t make it?”

My father just watched me make the fishing rod.

“You’re not trying to catch it with martial arts, are you? You can’t. You catch it properly with a fishing rod.”

“embrace.”

“But why don’t you make it? No matter how you look at it, I won’t make it for you. You have to make it yourself. Are you going to blame it on the fishing rod later?”

But my father didn’t move an inch.

Finally, I raised both hands.

“I lost, I lost.”

I put down what I was making and started making fishing rods for my father. Of course, I made it with more care than mine.

My father just watched me like that without saying anything.

When the pole was finished, I took the fishing line and hooks from my luggage and did the finishing touches.

In this way, two fishing rods were created.

“Okay, here are your father’s weapons. Choose first.”

I held out my two fishing rods with great determination.

“No need.”

Father extended his hand toward the carriage.

What an ominous gesture!

Then, my father’s large backpack on the carriage came loose and something fell out and flew towards us.

It was a bamboo stick as long as an adult’s forearm.

Swish.

When my father manipulated the bamboo, it grew long like a magic wand.

To my surprise, it was a fishing rod. It looked flexible yet sturdy, and at first glance, it was out of the ordinary.

“What is that?”

Then, an amazing name comes out.

“This is the poisonous weapon of the East Sea fisherman.”

Donghae Eoong was a martial arts master who traveled across the central plains with a single fishing rod. And his fishing rod was known as the perfect fishing rod. There was even a saying that if a fishing rod could catch a blue whale, it would have to be Donghae Eoong’s fishing rod.

“Why does your father have that?”

“He lost to me in a duel before, and left after giving me his fishing rod.”

“Was it your father who retired that person?”

“It was his pride that made him retire.”

It was a thrill. This thrill was not because my father had defeated the East Sea fisherman when he was young. It was not because I had seen that perfect fishing rod in person.

I was so touched that my father brought that for me.

Late at night, I remembered my father packing the fishing rod he brought from Cheonmabogo into his backpack.

As I was packing it, my father probably thought that maybe we could go fishing together.

“No, if you have a fishing rod, you should have told me so. You really want to tease my son like this.”

Maybe you enjoyed the sight of your son making you a fishing rod.

“And the East Sea fisherman’s fishing rod? This is foul play!”

“Who said we shouldn’t blame our equipment?”

I stood next to my father on the riverbank.

Our fishing competition to catch a big fish has begun.

“Okay, shall we begin?”

“You will stink today, so stay far away from me and sleep.”

“I have something to say. I will endure the smell coming from my father’s body and sleep. I will prove that a craftsman is not picky about his tools.”

It’s true, it won’t be easy to catch it with that.

Our fishing lines flew over the river water sparkling in the sunlight.

The curve created by the fishing line was more beautiful than any line created by any martial arts. As the bait entered the river, gentle waves flowed, and soon it became calm.

The gentle sound of water was heard. The sound of water birds flapping their wings was carried by the river wind.

The surroundings were extremely quiet and peaceful.

It was my first fishing trip with my father.

Absolute Return Episode 449